A faded pink $8 Goodwill Little Tykes car shall be revitalized as a Cinderella pumpkin coach for the year-old family princess! Orange and green paints, dollar store accents, and thrift ingenuity combine for whimsical stem and vine motifs in this magical, affordable makeover! While the paint dries there is even more trash to treasure crafts – including glitter stockings and faux holiday candles. Let’s throw in a costume, tiara, and wand to match because why not?
Many would see a faded Little Tykes Princess Coup and think nothing of it. However, when I spotted this $8 Goodwill find, I immediately thought PUMPKIN! Ironically, procuring the right shade of orange spray paint was the toughest part, as most home improvement stores only carry the fluorescent construction orange. Ultimately, I ordered an elusive $20 six-pack of “Rustic Orange” online but only used three cans for the car body. The steering wheel and four base wheels were taped and papered as they would remain black, but the two coats of orange went well save for some drips when I titled the car to cover the undersides and odd angles. This coup model was also missing the removable floorboard which enables a child to be initially pushed before moving the car themselves Flintstones style, but fortunately, Little Tykes offers replacement parts. This likewise spray-painted orange floorboard actually cost twice as much as the thrift car price thanks to shipping, but as this Cinderella coup is for my one-year-old niece, and the floorboard allows the car to grow with her.
Touch-ups around the eyes and steering wheel were done with an acrylic orange, a slightly different color for dimension on the car’s little smiley face front. I picked up three cans of Seaweed green spray paint for the accents, but to get in all the tight spots the can have to be much too close – leading to problematic drips and a switch to an acrylic Spring Green from my stash. Two coats of this fresh, bright green and a gloss spray sealing coat leftover from my Halloween Cat House Makeover later and this little custom coach came together in a weekend at $44 compared to the $60 plus for a brand new but less unique coup. While the paint dried, I worked on a whimsical stem to top off the pumpkin transformation, using masking tape and cardboard shipping corners cut into various heights to create texture and a curly-cue end shaped with a pipe cleaner before hot glue both secured and added gnarly dimension as seen in my Cardboard Candle Clusters and Halloween Mystery Staff. Varying coats and blends of brown and white paint made for a warm and realistic if bemusing look.
Now while the stem dried, Christmas Elf Kbatz also worked on a personalized glitter stocking for our rescue cat and faux holiday candles. After contemplating doing oversize candy cane-style candles out of Styrofoam or pool noodles,I made us of several Pringles cans that I had previously taped together and hastily painted but didn’t quite like or know what to do with at the time. The light brown and white paint mix became a primer before two white coats and dollar store red tape spirals. Light bulb toppers from the dollar store were painted yellow ochre in the same technique as the Dark Shadows Sconces before being secured with hot glue faux candle wax drips. With the $4 candle detours complete and all touch-ups dry, it was time to attach the stem to the pumpkin car with more glitter green hot glue embellishing the root-esque base and blended painting to match. Dollar store green mesh tubing and $5 Goodwill ivy became pumpkin vine spirals and leaf accents, and for that extra Bibbidi Bobiddi Boo, a $7 thrift Cinderella costume, tiara, and wand await!
Outside of lucking into the car and waiting on spray paint drying times in mild December weather, this came together in four days. For crafty parents looking to make a unique themed vehicle or families seeking a fun holiday project, the second-hand imaginative possibilities here are priceless.
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Revisit More Kbatz Krafts:
DIY Cardboard Stained Glass Window
Carving and Baking with Real Pumpkin
Spooky Ride by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/250/spooky-ride Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100270 Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Italian Morning by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/
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